Miami Marlins All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers has been placed on the injured list with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain and is expected to miss three to four weeks, according to a report from Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The injury is a major blow for Miami, heading into Opening Day on March 27 against the Colorado Rockies.
Stowers was pulled early from Miami’s Spring Training game against the Houston Astros on Friday after experiencing tightness in his right hamstring. Imaging on the hamstring came back as a Grade 1 strain, putting his early-season availability in doubt.
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What makes this diagnosis more alarming is that the 28-year-old had already injured his hamstring earlier in Spring Training, missing nearly two weeks before returning to the Marlins lineup. This is the same injury in the same leg flaring up again, and the timing couldn’t be worse with the regular season days away.
The Marlins are losing their best hitter on their roster at the moment when the franchise is trying to build on real momentum. After winning just 62 games in 2024 and finishing last in the National League East, Miami bounced back to finish 79-83 in 2025, overtaking the Washington Nationals and finishing ahead of an Atlanta Braves team that entered with World Series aspirations. Stowers’ production was driving much of that progress.
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Stowers had a breakout 2025 campaign, representing the Marlins in the All-Star Game and setting career highs in every offensive category. He slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI and a .912 OPS in 117 games. He became the first Marlins outfielder named a NL All-Star since Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton in 2017.
Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers (28) © Sam Navarro-Imagn ImagesSam Navarro-Imagn Images
(Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
His July was particularly dominant: he won NL Player of the Month after leading the league in OBP, slugging and OPS while hitting 10 home runs. His defense was also listed among the best, as he finished as an NL Gold Glove finalist in left field.
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Despite all that, Stowers still missed the final stretch of the 2025 season with a left oblique strain in August. Now, in 2026, it’s another injury that will cut into a good portion of the season.
With a three-to-four-week timeline, a best-case scenario return lands him somewhere in mid-to-late April, meaning the Marlins could be without him for as many as 15 to 20 games to open the year.
Griffin Conine will be the most likely to take Stowers’ place in the outfield, but neither will be a true replacement for what he brings offensively. The Marlins will need to piece things together in the lineup until their best bat is healthy enough to return, and given that this hamstring has already acted up twice this spring, there’s no guarantee the timeline stays on schedule.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.